Highland senior Kate Robinson smirked a little as she talked about defense.

That expression, along with the words that followed, offer all the evidence the DePauw commit needs to explain why she prefers playing on the back line.

“It’s fun to know that you’re messing with your opponents a little bit,” Robinson said. “They’re conscious of me. They know that I’m something they have to look out for.”

Robinson’s coaches and teammates have taken notice too. She cracked the varsity lineup as a freshman, and she was named the team MVP last season.

But Highland coach Courtney Condes was quick to point out that Robinson can also be a capable contributor on the other end of the field. Robinson has one goal in two games for Highland (2-0) and was second on the team with six goals last season, when she scored primarily on set pieces.

“It’s not like she can’t do both,” Condes said. “She’s always been confident in her soccer ability, so she can play anywhere on the field. But she’s OK with being the player who’s helping save the goals instead of scoring them.”

The defensive side of the field has felt to Robinson like the place where she belonged.

“When I was younger, I loved dribbling up and shooting,” she said. “But as I got older, I realized that I liked hanging back and playing the ball forward. It felt better for me to assist a goal than to score one, and I liked cutting off attacks.”

Highland senior midfielder Casey DiSanto figures Robinson must be frustrating for opponents.

“They probably get really angry having to go against her,” DiSanto said. “She’s very difficult to get by.”

DiSanto has a much different view of Robinson, however.

“She’ll give you a lot of directions, but it’s never in a mean way,” DiSanto said. “I love playing at center mid because I know she’s always there to support me, always communicating with me if there’s something that I’m not able to see, and it’s always in the sweetest way possible.”

Soccer has been Robinson’s primary sport for years, but she added another one during her sophomore year following conversations with former elementary school classmate Aleksandra Bastaic, a nationally ranked wrestler.

“I wanted to become more balanced,” Robinson said. “With soccer, I have a lot more leg muscle, but I wanted to develop more core and upper-body strength.”

So Robinson started wrestling and ended her junior season as a state qualifier at 145 pounds. She intends to compete in the sport again this winter, when girls wrestling will be officially sanctioned by the Indiana High School Athletic Association for the first time.

“It’s a lot, but it’s very rewarding in the end,” Robinson said. “It’s made me tougher, not letting my opponent push me over. Starting with my junior year of soccer, I remember them not being able to push me around as easily.”

Robinson said she hopes she motivates younger Highland players to explore roads less traveled too.

“I’m hoping to inspire a lot of the freshmen to just be themselves and not be afraid to try new things,” she said.

Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.